Girls Basketball: Clintonville unable to secure home win

CLINTONVILLE — The Clintonville High School girls basketball team was unable to finish off a North Eastern Conference clash against Oconto Falls on Thursday.

Clintonville took a 47-39 lead with 6 minutes, 30 seconds to play after a 3-pointer from sophomore Hannah Strong, but the visiting Panthers ended the game on a 15-4 run to sneak off with a 54-51 victory.

“We just didn’t do the little things — missed some shots, missed some opportunities to get rebounds,” said Clintonville coach Nick Yaeger. “It was a good game, unfortunately somebody’s got to lose it. I thought (we) played really hard. It’s a tough one.”

Clintonville had a five-point lead with 4:02 to play after a pair of free throws from senior Elly Arndt, but Oconto Falls hit two 3-pointers to grab the lead with over two-and-a-half minutes remaining.

Clintonville and Oconto Falls both missed free throws over the next couple minutes, and the Truckers still trailed 50-49 when they called timeout with 41.7 seconds left.

Trucker senior Erin Viergutz hit the go-ahead basket with about 33 seconds left, but Oconto Falls got a bucket of its own with about 18 seconds left to retake the lead. Clintonville had the chance to tie or go ahead with 9.9 seconds left, but missed a pair of free throws.

The Truckers never got the ball back, as Oconto Falls made the front end of a pair of 1-and-1 opportunities at the free-throw line before grabbing the offensive rebounds after misses on the second attempts.

It was the second time this season that the two teams met. Oconto Falls rolled to a 51-32 win in the first matchup back on Nov. 26.

“It was definitely our energy,” said Viergutz on the difference between the two games. “I know we have a lot more energy when we we’re at home with our student section. When we played them the first time, we didn’t have school so I think that affected us.”

Viergutz led Clintonville on both sides of the court, scoring 23 points and grabbing nine rebounds. She hit a 3-pointer in each half to complement her work down low.

Junior Selina Torrez was aggressive on offense, getting to the free-throw line seven times on her way to an eight-point performance. Arndt and sophomore Jordan Lehman each chipped in seven points.

Yaeger decided to have his team play a 1-3-1 zone on defense. Oconto Falls was able to work out to an early 14-6 lead, but the Truckers’ defense tightened and the hosts were able to battle their way back into the game.

In the first half, Viergutz scored 12 points, while Lehman had seven and Torrez six. The trio helped the team take a three-point lead into halftime.

Oconto Falls 28 26 — 54

Clintonville 31 20 — 51

Oconto Falls (54): Natalie Brauer 2-4 12, Morgan Helmle 0-0 9, Alexis Euclide 0-0 2, McKayla Goebel 3-7 9, Hailey Peitersen 0-0 4, Kari Albrecht 0-0 18.

Clintonville (51): Elly Arndt 2-2 7, Abby King 0-0 2, Selina Torrez 4-7 8, Lauren Zwirschitz 1-2 1, Jordan Lehman 3-6 7, Erin Viergutz 3-5 23, Hannah Strong 0-2 3.

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